Property developer and CEO Tim Gurner: “We need to see unemployment rise. Unemployment has to jump 40, 50 percent in my view. We need to see pain in the economy. We need to remind people that they work for the employer, not the other way around.”

  • rockSlayer@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Just want to clear the record and say that every business owner thinks this, it’s just that this jackass has the stupidity to say it out loud. They don’t want to pay more, which has become a necessity since the pandemic due to low unemployment rates. By having a larger labor pool, they can cut wages to take advantage of people’s desperation.

    • Nexz@feddit.nl
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      1 year ago

      Hi there, business owner here. I wouldn’t dare to think this about my employees as they drive our business forward. I’m also a huge proponent of working from home (1 day in the office is nice, but not mandatory). I also try to compensate them and cut them in on our profits - before I take my own cut mind you. Happy workers = better productivity.

    • Uniquitous@lemmy.one
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      1 year ago

      Baseball bats are easier to explain. Just keep a glove and a baseball next to one in your backseat or trunk. “Yeah officer, I like to go play down at the park with my friends.”

  • deconstruct@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    This is the “Millenials eat too much avocado toast” guy. He lives on rage bait and generating headlines.

  • Etterra@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This is the guy that made the original avocado toast comment. He is prime eat the rich material of ever there was any.

  • Jay@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    We need to remind people that they work for the employer, not the other way around

    This angers me. If it wasn’t for employees many employers be living in a box under the turnpike, because shit doesn’t get done by wishful thinking alone.

      • Jay@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        That’s what gets me, this guy has such a one-sided opinion that he can’t even realize his workers are the ones literally making him his money. No workers, no money coming in.

        “They should be grateful to have a job.” Yup, and he should be just as grateful anyone is willing to work for him, because without them he goes nowhere.

    • Salvo@aussie.zone
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      1 year ago

      He does not understand economics.

      He is a “Property Developer”. In his “perfect world” of employees working 16 hour days and not getting paid, that also means that half of the rental homes do not have tenants, half of small businesses in shopping centres don’t have customers and half of all his “Developed Properties” are empty.

      He is just a Fuckwit who was given a silver spoon and doesn’t actually comprehend how reality works.

  • m-p{3}@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    We need to remind people that they work for the employer, not the other way around.

    Employment is a mutually-beneficial agreement. I pity whoever has that CEO as a boss that thinks so lowly of their subordinates. We need to remind employers that they also depend on their employees.

  • gbuttersnaps@programming.dev
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    1 year ago

    For everyone saying “A 50% increase in unemployment would only take us from 3.8% to 5.7%, that’s not bad” keep in mind that 37,000 people die for every 1% increase in unemployment. This man is essentially wishing for the deaths of 70,000 americans.

    Edit: just realized he’s probably talking about Australia from his accent. Not sure about the numbers for Australia on unemployment deaths, but I imagine the point should still stand.

    • NoneOfUrBusiness@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      keep in mind that 37,000 people die for every 1% increase in unemployment. This man is essentially wishing for the deaths of 70,000 americans.

      Wait really? How?

      • gbuttersnaps@programming.dev
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        1 year ago

        Economic instability has been found to increase overall mortality, infant deaths, fatalities from cardiovascular disease, cirrhosis, suicide, and homicide as well as morbidities, alcoholism and admissions to mental hospitals. M Harvey Brenner has publications studying the phenomenon going all the way back to the 50s if you’re interested in the scientific literature.

      • El Barto@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        More people unemployed, more people without money, more people being poor. More desperate people, more sick people, more angry people, etc…

        • ilikekeyboards@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          More people wishing to bash your head in for your wallet. Remember, just because you have it good in life it doesn’t matter if everyone else is in misery, suffering

    • BreakDecks@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      37,000 people die for every 1% increase in unemployment

      This is a made up figure from the movie The Big Short, it isn’t an actual figure, lmao.

      Also, this is about Australia.

      • gbuttersnaps@programming.dev
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        1 year ago

        No, the number comes from a macroeconomics text book written by Gregory Mankiw and its based on research by Harvey Brennan studying the correlation since the 1950s.

  • MajorHavoc@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I heard “Let them eat cake.”

    Both in the sense that this is a bullshit thing to say, and in the sense that this is the sort of thing that, if misquoted, could get innocent (at least of saying something like that) people hurt.

  • cjo@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Keep in mind that “jump 40-50%” is not the same as “unemployment at 40-50%”…your headline is sensationalist (or just a misunderstanding of the numbers). This guy’s take is still absurd, regardless.

  • Twentytwodividedby7@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Not agreeing with the sentiment, but your title is wrong, OP. He didn’t say unemployment should be 40-50%. He said it should increase by 40-50%, which equates to a move from 3.8% to 5.7%

  • Tischkante@discuss.tchncs.de
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    1 year ago

    This goes right into my spreadsheet of examples how winning at capitalism does not require much intelligence or foresight. In fact, too much of either hurts your chances.

      • aedalla@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Not true! You also have to be significantly lucky. I’ve met plenty of egocentric psychopaths who are stuck in small-time hustles and utterly pissed about it.